Psalm 115 Study Notes

115:1-18 This psalm contains a number of lines identical to those in Ps 135.

115:1 God is glorious because of his faithful love and truth.

115:2 The nations questioned the presence of Israel’s God in light of her dire circumstances. The setting may be exilic, prompting the question, or the question may be a general remark on the absence of any visible manifestation of Israel’s God.

115:3 This phrase expresses God’s sovereignty (135:6; Pr 21:1; see Ec 8:3).

115:4-8 Compare these verses with 135:15-18. Idols, created by humans, are lifeless. The nations’ gods are impotent. The prophet Isaiah also declared the weakness of idols (Is 6:10; 40:19-20; 41:7; 46:1-7). While the molten images appear to have human characteristics, they are unable to act under their own power. Those who create idols and place their trust in them will be just like them—powerless and ineffective.

115:9-13 Verses 12-13 list the consequences of vv. 9-11; Israel trusts God, and God blesses Israel.

115:14 Increased descendants is a sign of the Lord’s favor and blessing.

115:15 The Lord created all things; he is not created by human hands (v. 4). This expression occurs frequently in poetical texts that herald the Lord’s superiority.

115:16 The human race is literally “the sons of man (’adam).” God has given (entrusted) the earth to mankind to be its trustees.

115:17-18 Those who have descended into silence is a figure for those who are dead—lifeless idols and their makers. Conversely, those who trust in God are alive, and they bless his name forever.